Hulk

I spent all weekend doing something I haven't done for 20 years!  Making molds.
3 piece mold, plaster is curing and hopefully ends up working out.
 

I am going to try throwing again today,  I tried a couple of days ago and it did not go well.   My hand doctor told me it could be a couple of months before I get completely healed.   I  hope my hand will cooperate today if it doesn't I think I will start coiling again.   Tried using my slab roller and couldn't turn the wheel with my right hand had to use my left hand and arm.  Wish me luck!  Denice

It's been quiet on this workbench thread so I thought I'ld show my mussels.  
^10 porcelain, heading for a soda firing if they make it through drying without cracking.

Handy folks up thar ^!
Tinkerin', design, fabrication, repair, maintenance, building, allat runs in the family, somewhat. Our folks provided examples and supported our curiosity as well. Pop should have known not to bother assembling our new bikes for xmas (oh dear, that was 'bout '65 or so); first, err, second thing I did was tear it down to to axles and crank, clean all, then re-assemble with proper (pasty white lithium may be ok for you pal) lubrications, tensions, torque, and all, ahem. The cables and their housings were all wrong, the wheels weren't true, and the brake blocks were backward.
When breakdowns occur, typically looking to effect repairs - even if "it ain' worth it" - mostly ...at least determine causation. Where an improvement can be made, so much the better.  
Still, there are those cases where we don't have proper tools and/or inclination (e.g. our new "hot tub" ...err, septic tank and leach field). Some work gets farmed out, likely that's true for just about everyone.
 

Handy folks up thar ^!
Tinkerin', design, fabrication, repair, maintenance, building, allat runs in the family, somewhat. Our folks provided examples and supported our curiosity as well. Pop should have known not to bother assembling our new bikes for xmas (oh dear, that was 'bout '65 or so); first, err, second thing I did was tear it down to to axles and crank, clean all, then re-assemble with proper (pasty white lithium may be ok for you pal) lubrications, tensions, torque, and all, ahem. The cables and their housings were all wrong, the wheels weren't true, and the brake blocks were backward.
When breakdowns occur, typically looking to effect repairs - even if "it ain' worth it" - mostly ...at least determine causation. Where an improvement can be made, so much the better.  
Still, there are those cases where we don't have proper tools and/or inclination (e.g. our new "hot tub" ...err, septic tank and leach field). Some work gets farmed out, likely that's true for just about everyone.
 

Pretty much everything, heh.  I make videos about making things and it's been beneficial for other potters, but detrimental for selling things at a price.  It looks easy, and I can't really blame people for thinking so.  I think only people who took ceramics in school or who have tried it themselves can really appreciate the time and energy it takes to get a form the way you want it.  It's not even easy to make something really crappy.  But just watching someone do it, is like... Oh yeah of course, you just make the clay into whatever you want, easy premise.
I think the 3D arts are especially prone to this bias because HELLO you just make what you see.  Most people have drawn something, and realise how difficult it is to draw something the way you see it.  But most people have not tried to sculpt or do something in three dimensions because it's less accessible.  They have no frame of reference.  
I've gone back and forth with people on this and the jury is out, but as far as the amount of skill and time that goes into a given form, it's lost on a lot of people.
Luckily I've found that most people seeking ceramics are people who have at least tried it and are appreciative of the skill and effort.
As a footnote, I really appreciate the experience of sitting at a booth and hearing the things that we usually consider negative or condescending about our craft.  For me it brings to light a lot of things I'd never have considered and I feel like I understand better what it is that impresses people who don't have a frame of reference.  It's not comfortable at the time, but in retrospect it's something I feel is important to think about.

Not that they are really difficult but they do take more time than they look.  From last week (finally able to start throwing again after an injury).

 
Absolutely!
 

Okay, last question was: do you make anything that is easy and quick to make but looks like it's more work than it is? That brings to mind just the opposite: QotW: What do you make that is difficult, and takes time but is not viewed as difficult?
I think if I were to look at my pots over the years there are at least two things that seem to be unappreciated for their complexity or difficulty. Large anything, and covered dishes. I will take on the covered dishes first, as the two parts for me has much to work on. I find the fitting of lids not too bad, and the placement of handles is fine, but then when you consider the throwing so that the bottom of the casserole does not crack, the marrying of the walls into the base, and the arch of the lid and lid fit, the placement of the lid handle for use with mitts and the side handles of the dish if it has them. . . . .there is a lot to go wrong. Don't  get me wrong, my percentage of survival of good well thrown and glaze ware in this category is high when I do it, but I haven' in years, They never sold well.
Large anything, I have done the covered jars, the large floor vases, and two three and four section pots over the years. In talking with lot of folks it is not construed as being worth the money!!!! They don't understand the fact that to get to the point that you can throw a 36" cylinder and shape it, trim the base, and then glaze it may only take you an hour and a half all together. When looking at the price tag they can't wrap their heads around the fact that it took years to gain the skill to do it.  Just saying... . 
So QothW: What do you make that is difficult, and takes time but is not viewed as difficult?
 
best,
Pres

I was demonstrating at Altoona Area HS, where I used to teach, on Wednesday last week. I did 6 demonstrations(class periods) Each included a 9" cylinder of 3#, a 4# bowl, and a plate of 5#. Then I threw a few pots quickly showing how things were done in a studio situation; the teacher Eric Hoover narrated while I worked. I used stamping on the cylinders, and the plate before final shaping.
While I was doing this, I was thinking of another basic wheel throwing project for beginners: sponge holders with drip edge. This uses a very similar concept to the apple baker. . .creating a small edge outside of a cylinder about 4-5 inches tall with a notch cut in it. I use a piece of pipe salvaged out of a toilet paper roller when the clay is near leather hard to cut two holes to establish the width of the slot and cut the rest of the slot with a fettling knife. I realize that many folks are making these, but they are not too difficult, and for a beginner another form to knock off.
 

best,
Pres

Almost the same for me, I have the utility sink outside connected to the garden hose with a large plastic container underneath acting as a trap. I do have a sink inside where I throw but I don't use it, not sure what clay/glaze would do to a septic system but I'm sure it ain't good.

Hot and cold, large laundry/utility sink is next door to the studio, hence water in the studio is by bucket. Settled throwing water is separated - slop to slop bucket, clear water back to throwing bucket. Settled cleanup water is separated - slop to landscape watering, clear water back to cleanup. When either get all nasty, when a fresh load of water is in order - to the landscape!
Since installing 133 gallon tank to capture RO "waste" water and whole house gac backwash, I'm getting throwing and cleanup water from there (using RO water for glazes). Full five gallon buckets are heavier these days - about half full is enough.

No food, since my studio is in my trailer (pardon me--mobile home) and I usually eat at my computer, in the living room.  In the studio, coffee, tea, water, always. Mostly coffee, and in my favorite mugs by Steven Zoldak (slip trailed) ,  Andy Hampton (genuine tea dust glaze), and my own. The red clay one gets the heavy traffic.   

Hot and cold, large laundry/utility sink is next door to the studio, hence water in the studio is by bucket. Settled throwing water is separated - slop to slop bucket, clear water back to throwing bucket. Settled cleanup water is separated - slop to landscape watering, clear water back to cleanup. When either get all nasty, when a fresh load of water is in order - to the landscape!
Since installing 133 gallon tank to capture RO "waste" water and whole house gac backwash, I'm getting throwing and cleanup water from there (using RO water for glazes). Full five gallon buckets are heavier these days - about half full is enough.

Hot and cold, large laundry/utility sink is next door to the studio, hence water in the studio is by bucket. Settled throwing water is separated - slop to slop bucket, clear water back to throwing bucket. Settled cleanup water is separated - slop to landscape watering, clear water back to cleanup. When either get all nasty, when a fresh load of water is in order - to the landscape!
Since installing 133 gallon tank to capture RO "waste" water and whole house gac backwash, I'm getting throwing and cleanup water from there (using RO water for glazes). Full five gallon buckets are heavier these days - about half full is enough.

Hot and cold, large laundry/utility sink is next door to the studio, hence water in the studio is by bucket. Settled throwing water is separated - slop to slop bucket, clear water back to throwing bucket. Settled cleanup water is separated - slop to landscape watering, clear water back to cleanup. When either get all nasty, when a fresh load of water is in order - to the landscape!
Since installing 133 gallon tank to capture RO "waste" water and whole house gac backwash, I'm getting throwing and cleanup water from there (using RO water for glazes). Full five gallon buckets are heavier these days - about half full is enough.

I have a bucket system where I throw and handbuild.  I carry the slurry/sludge out and water the trees with it.  Our area is quite arid so I really don't want to waste water.  In the shop where I glaze and fire, I again have a bucket system, so I carry it out and water the trees again.  Even in the winter, I will pour it all on the trees.  In warmer weather I have a 2 tub utility sink outside with a hose and buckets under the drains.  Yes, the trees benefit from that.  It's not perfect, but I have made it work!  
Roberta

i have hot and cold water in west va with a normal size laundry tub.  it had a gleco trap but when the plumber moved the sink he did not connect it.  so i use a bucket inside to catch most of the clay residue.   this is connected to a septic tank so i know someday i will have to have it drained.  being there only 7 months a year and using minimum water, i have had no problems.   i also had it raised to a comfortable level so i do not hurt my back leaning over it.
in florida, the sink is a deep one that drains to a barrel outside.  i still use a bucket for the first rinse.  that water is only cold but i have an electric tea kettle right next to the sink.  it is also higher than normal.
just a note for those of you considering a sink but have little room, the average size laundry tub is a lot bigger than the small one i have in my tiny trailer home in florida.   it came from a mobile home supply company and is only 18 inches wide.   it is also set higher than the standard legs that come with these sinks.  
your sink, make it comfortable for your height.

I have a fiberglass stationary tub sitting just outside my studio door (southern California) where the wall is plumbed for a cold water bathtub spout, at stationary tub height , and a hand-held shower head. No drainage plumbed, just a bucket beneath the drain, so I am careful with water usage. Since the tub is not plumbed, but freestanding, I can move it out of the way if necessary. 

Yes I do and I always have had hot and cold running water as well as a hose. My studio, The Potters Shop & School,  is a working studio condo in the  Gorse Mill Studios, an historic mill building that I renovated. I have a double sink with hot and cold water and hose. The sink is fitted with a flexible spray nozzle and Gleco Trap

I have a dishpan in my sink that I wash my hands in and any objects covered with clay.  After the clay settles I pour the top clear water into my settling drain and the thick clay goes into the trash.  I have only cleaned my 15 gallon settling system once and I had my son carry the clay gunk upstairs.  If I get some funky smell coming up from my drain I pour some bleach in it.  Denice

My basement studio has access to a sink with hot water, but I’m careful to use bucket siphon systems for disposal, as I don’t have a clay trap. 12 years in the same house, and so far so good. 

My first studio just had a bucket of water,  that was alright I just did hand building.   My second studio had cold water and I had a garden hose on a utility sink that drained out doors.   My third studio had hot and cold water in a tiny sink and a simple bucket settling system where the clear water went into a floor drain.   I built my current studio it  has a nice large sink, hot and cold water.  The drain line on the sink goes down to a  settling system in the basement,  the clear water drains into the sump pump.  I am still very conservative with my water use I guess it is my training from my bucket days.   Denice

I don't have water in my shed, I need to top off my buckets with a hose.  Hasn't been an issue though.   Large crock pot for hot water, hooked to a 4 hour timer just in case I forget to turn it off (yes, I bought the timer after I came back in to a crock of dried cement one day).  My throwing sessions are generally 4 hours or less, unless on the weekends so I don't go through a lot of water anyway.  I try to recycle as much water as possible by letting everything settle and then scooping it out of my cleaning bucket and back into my throwing bucket.  Works good.

I as a professional I need infrastructure -I'm good at supplying  it as well (meaning I have those skill sets). My studio is insulated and has cold water into a lage flat sink-that sink drains into a two tired settling tubs  outside then runs to a timber Bamboo patch. I shovel the clay out of the tubs after it settles  and dry it and throw it away in the trash can.I heat the studio with natural gas heater and alos can heat water on that stove with all metal pan.
In winter the heat also dries the wares as well as warms our bodies.The drying pots is really important midwinter.
I also have speakers and a sound system and pipe tunes into studio from house  with a volume control in studio and one outside in kiln laoding area (must have tunes to work)-also a central  vacuum system for clay dust control. I also have a few telephones on the wall-one in the main studio and one next to my wheel in throwing room.
With all the time i spend in the studio it has to work well. The floor is wood so leg fatigue is cut downas well.

lol funny, we got the Clay Boss and 2 weeks later picked up a brand spankin new J-230 18x27 L&L manual kiln still wrapped up and on the pallet with kiln shelf kit . Plus a used Shimpo Velocity that was and still is in good shape for $300.00 ..  you talk about 2 happy potters doing a little dance ...